The Price of Forgiveness
by Ruse1
Summary: Based on spoilers for the episode "Fear Itself", Ephram is stranded in the middle of a lake with a sinking boat, and heavy heart.
1. Of Heavy Regrets

The Price of Forgiveness By: Ruse Chapter One: Of Heavy Regret  
  
**Warning**: This story is pure speculation on spoilers that have been floating around about the episode "Fear Itself". So, you know, you might get spoiled a teensy bit ;)  
  
Summary: Irv and Andy go on a nature retreat/hiking trip, and drag Ephram along. The leaky boat from earlier in the season makes an appearance, and Ephram is stranded in the middle of lake with a sinking boat and heavy heart.  
  
Disclaimer: I own *nothing* that has *anything* to do with Everwood, though I wish I did.  
  
The evening sun shimmered off the crystal blue lake, a light wind shivering the mountains reflected in its glassy surface. By all accounts, it was the perfect ending to a gorgeous Colorado day. Yet, as his boat rocked gently in the serene water, Ephram Brown noticed none of this; rather, he was concerned with matters much more human and far less wonderful.  
  
The fight had been stupid, and Ephram regretted it now. It started over something trivial, he couldn't remember what now, but it quickly escalated into something much bigger and uglier. All of his frustration with Amy and Colin, and all his bitterness toward his father that he thought had been bled out of his system, but apparently hadn't, came bubbling up. Ephram winced at the memory of all the harsh things he'd said, the hurt look on his father's face, Irv's vain attempts to look interested in something that wasn't the screaming pair in front of him...  
  
No, that wasn't right. The screaming *boy* in front of him-Andy hadn't said a thing. He just stood there while Ephram tore him apart for all the failures he had tried to amend over the last few months, stayed silent while he was blamed over and over again for Julia's death and the pain he'd caused her while she was alive. Then he watched as his son dropped his pack and ran, not looking back at the devastation he left behind.  
  
"Oh God," Ephram whispered, dropping his head into his hands. "What have I done?"  
  
Snapping out of his reverie and momentarily pushing guilt to the back of his mind, Ephram looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. The shore of the wide lake was a mere point in the distance, wavering in the waning sun. Swearing, he noticed for the first time that his shoes and socks were soaked from the inches of freezing water that had slowly worked their way into the boat. He had jumped in the old vessel as soon as he reached it, wanting solitude, despite his father's earlier warnings that it had the tendency to spring leaks. As was often the case as of late, he should have listened.  
  
Deciding that however painful the apology would be, facing his father had to be better than having to guide a sinking boat to shore and find the campsite in the pitch darkness. Ready to face reality, Ephram turned to the motor and started the engine. Or, at least tried.  
  
The engine gave a weak whirr and quickly sputtered into silence.  
  
"You have got to be kidding me." growled Ephram, smacking the motor and trying the cord again, this time with even less luck. "Talk about karma." Sighing, he roughly pulled a hand through his hair, searching for any sort of oar or flare that might have miraculously appeared there. No such luck. The only thing inside the boat besides water and anything he had on his person was a tattered lifejacket that had been serving as a seat cushion.  
  
Ephram snorted humorlessly. "Like this is going to help me now." Nevertheless, he pulled the vest over his head and strapped it on, gazing out at the vast expanse of water that had now turned a midnight blue.  
  
"Okay, what are my options?" Ephram said, feeling a little more than foolish not only for talking aloud to himself, but for creating the situation to begin with. "I could wait until the Candid Camera appears, and have a good laugh over hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Or, I could scream myself hoarse, hoping that someone can hear me, and then wait for hours while they get help, which, judging by the fact that half the lake is in my boat, I don't have."  
  
Dipping his hand in the cold, inky water, he muttered resignedly, "Or, I could jump out, swim for shore, and try to find Irv and my dad."  
  
Knowing that in either of the plausible scenarios he would end up in the lake, and reasoning that he had a better chance of making it shore now that there was still a spark of light and his limbs weren't completely frozen, Ephram climbed over the side of the boat and dropped into the water.  
  
Gasping from the shock of the cold, he treaded water to warm up his arms and legs, trying to push worries of drowning or freezing to death from his mind. With no other choice in sight, Ephram turned to the shore and began to swim, leaving the abandoned boat bobbing in his wake. 


	2. Bad Moon Rising

The Price of Forgiveness  
  
By: Ruse  
  
Chapter Two: Bad Moon Rising  
  
(see Chapter 1 for summary and disclaimer)  
  
Andrew Brown looked up at the blood red sun sinking into the west and sighed worriedly, letting his head drop to stare into his coffee. He sloshed the liquid around the cup and took a sip, its warmth offering no comfort, knowing that his son was out in the woods somewhere, probably freezing cold. As if reading his friend's mind, Irv left his place by the fire and walked over to the log where Andy sat.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine," the older man offered. "He probably hiked back to town and is eating Mama Joy's take-out as we speak."  
  
"What if he's not? God, no matter how mad I am at him, I can't stand the thought of him spending the night by himself out here. He's a city boy.doesn't know the first thing about surviving in the woods."  
  
"First of all, he may be a city boy, but he's also a smart boy. He'll find a way back to town, or back here if he wants."  
  
Andy chuckled darkly. "If he wants. Judging by the way he told me off, he *never* wants to see me again."  
  
"He's a teenage boy who's still adjusting to a brand new life," said Irv, shaking his head. "If he wasn't lashing out, I'd be worried."  
  
"Come on, you heard what he was saying. That's not normal teenage rebellion, Irv. He honestly hates me. How.how could I have done this to my son?" His hands shook as he fiddled with the quickly cooling mug. "All those years of working 16 hour days, saving countless lives, I never imagined that I was ruining Ephram's. I thought at first that the hostility was just a reaction to Julia's death and the move. I mean, nobody totally detests their father. But. it's been over a year since she died. Things seemed to have been going so well, but now this. Will anything I do ever make up for the years of neglect?"  
  
Irv remained silent for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts. "Doc, there are issues between you and Ephram that will never be settled; you'll just have to accept that. But I don't think what we saw tonight was all about you. In fact, I bet he's back at your house, mulling over the best way to apologize while still keeping up his 'distant and miserable' routine."  
  
Andy gave a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're probably right, Irv." He drew himself to his feet, groaning. "I'll have to gear up for another father-son talk though. With all this practice, you'd think I'd be getting better." Dumping the remnants of his coffee into the bushes, he glanced at his watch. "I'm still worried though. It's late, and it's getting cold. I'm going to walk around for a bit, see if he's anywhere within hearing distance."  
  
"I'll keep watch here in case he comes back," said Irv, situating himself by the fire again. "But I'm telling you, he's safe at home. See if I'm right." Grinning, he tossed his friend a flashlight.  
  
Andy worked his way through the forest, following the bouncing glow cast by the flashlight until he reached the edge of the lake. A sinking feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as he reached the shore, the light falling on the empty tether where the old motorboat should have been.  
  
"I should have known."  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
***Author's Note***  
  
Thanks to my reviewers! They make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside ( Sorry for the short chapter. I had to stick in a transition before I bounce back to Ephram's saga, and I was also wrestling with Andy's dialogue. I'll try to get Chapter 3 out by tomorrow, and I promise it'll be longer! 


	3. Tears That Angels Weep

The Price of Forgiveness  
  
By: Ruse  
  
See Chapter 1 for summary and disclaimer  
  
Chapter 3: Tears That Angels Weep  
  
As a child, Ephram's mother forced him into swimming lessons, bent on making him a proficient swimmer. And he was. He could pull off laps of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, even butterfly, without faltering, and once had even considered joining the swim team.  
  
None of that was helping him now.  
  
The lake water, even in the spring, was freezing, thanks in part to the surrounding mountains and their run-off of melting snow. At first, the icy cold had stabbed into his body, making it difficult to move and breathe, but the numb feeling that replaced the pain was, in a way, much worse. No matter how hard he pumped his arms and legs, the shore remained tantalizingly out of reach, and, not for the first time, Ephram doubted his decision to abandon the boat.  
  
"What if I don't make it?" thought Ephram idly, his mind oddly calm and detached for someone contemplating death. "I wonder what'll happen to Dad and Delia.they'll probably move again.maybe to somewhere warmer, like L.A. Hard to freeze to death in L.A."  
  
At this point all technique was forsaken, his arms and legs dragging like lead weights, each movement a chore. Above him, the first faint stars were appearing in the crystalline twilight.  
  
"He'll blame himself, of course, though it wasn't his fault. It was mine. It was always mine. If mom hadn't.Mom. Maybe I'll get to see her again, if I get to heaven. She always did say my playing was like angels dancing on the keys."  
  
It was getting harder to concentrate, his thoughts blending and fading away as quickly as they came, and it was becoming impossible to keep his eyes open.  
  
Ephram jerked awake as his knee scraped against something hard, inhaling a mouthful of lake water in the process. It took him a second to process what had happened, and even longer to realize what it meant.  
  
"Oh thank God," he choked out, scrambling to get on shore. But his body refused to cooperate as he clawed desperately at the bank, the silt slipping from under his stiff fingers, his numb feet gaining no purchase on the rocks. A wild sob rose in his throat-he'd come too far to be denied now.  
  
"Help me! Please!" Ephram rasped, using every last bit of energy to scream for help, knowing that he couldn't save himself.  
  
He stopped struggling. It was hopeless. There was no way anyone was within hearing distance, and he just couldn't get his body to move. His eyelids were growing heavy again, and this time he let himself succumb to the exhaustion.  
  
A clear thought pierced his mind as he sank back into the water.  
  
"All because you wouldn't listen, had to be a rebel. You can't blame this on anyone but yourself."  
  
A familiar voice filtered through the haze of Ephram's mind, but he couldn't hold on any longer. He let go, and the darkness rolled in.  
***Author's Note***  
  
::duh duh duh:: Cue Music of Drama  
  
Yeah, seems a bit rushed, doesn't it? Honestly, I'm not sure I'm even going to continue the fic, unless there is some wild demand for it. So tell me what you think. Thanks again to my reviewers, especially to rofro05 (told you I'd post it today!). 


	4. Paternal Instinct

The Price of Forgiveness  
  
By: Ruse  
  
For Summary and Disclaimer, see Chapter 1 (  
  
********************  
  
Chapter 4: Paternal Instinct  
  
They say that parents have a special connection with their children, a sort of ESP that allows a mother to hear her sick son rasp her name in the middle of the night, or a father to know that his daughter just skinned her knee on the front walk.  
  
Later, Andy would wonder if that was how he heard Ephram's cry for help.  
  
Either that or he had exceptionally sensitive hearing.  
  
He had never been so afraid in his entire life. Even when Julia died, there had been definition, a sense of finality that lent itself to hopelessness, not helplessness. From the second he realized what Ephram had done, a wave of panic clutched his heart. His son, his only son, could be in danger. Night had fallen, and, with the air void of the thrumming sound of a working motorboat, it was impossible to tell whether Ephram had merely pulled the boat ashore elsewhere, or perhaps was just sitting in the middle of the lake, deep in thought. Or something worse.  
  
Andy was in the process of going mad with these thoughts, tearing through the underbrush with the passion of someone who knows they're useless but is determined not to accept it, when he a weak noise caught his attention. He halted instantly, trying to quiet his heavy breathing in order to hear.  
  
There it was again; soft, desperate, and, to Andy's ears, unmistakably Ephram. He took off in the direction of the sound, praying that he wasn't too late, that his son was all right. The cries died away, so Andy took up the cause instead, bellowing his son's name in hopes that, whatever situation he was in, Ephram would hold on for a bit longer.  
  
Paying no attention to his footing, Andy tripped over a log, sending him sprawling onto the wet, soft sand of the bank. Swearing softly, he looked up from his prone position at the lake a few feet away. His heart froze at the sight that met his eyes.  
  
Bobbing in the water, pale and unconscious, was Ephram.  
  
Not wasting a second, Andy scrambled up from the damp ground and splashed into the water, ignoring the icy temperature. Grabbing the back of the life jacket, he hauled his son out of the water, trying not to notice his deathly pallor.  
  
He checked Ephram's breathing and pulse, relieved to find that the boy did, in fact, have both, though they were dangerously slow. There seemed to be no apparent injuries, but his skin was cold to the touch, and his fingers were taking on a bluish hue.  
  
"Hypothermia," Andy muttered as he stripped off his son's life jacket and drenched shirt, replacing them with his own thick, if not slightly damp, coat. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed the number for Denver Memorial Hospital, praying that reception was still good out in the woods.  
  
"Hello? This is Doctor Andrew Brown, and I have an emergency. I'm at Valley Lake, north of Everwood, and I have a 15 year-old male suffering from acute hypothermia. He's unresponsive, pulse 45. Honestly, I don't think I can find my way to a road so-"  
  
Pausing, Andy looked around for an answer to the dispatcher's question.  
  
"Yes, I think there might be a clearing a little farther in, but it's hard to see. I really don't remember...All right, yes, thank you." Sighing in relief, Andy pocketed his cell and turned his attention back to his son.  
  
"Come on Ephram, you have to wake up now. They're sending a chopper to fly us to Denver...always one for the drama, aren't you?" Andy smiled sadly, gently rubbing the boy's hands to warm them up. "I remember a mobile that you had over your crib as a baby. It had little helicopters and airplanes on it. You were always reaching up to grab it. Your mom said you were going to be a pilot someday--"  
  
Hoarse coughing brought Andy back to reality.  
  
"Ephram? Come on, buddy, open your eyes." He anxiously leaned over the shaking boy.  
  
Andy was rewarded with his son's gray, unfocused gaze. "Dad?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. It's going to be all right."  
  
"But I...what's...I thought Mom was..." Ephram's words were disjointed and mildly slurred, prompting Andy's concern.  
  
"You have to calm down, Ephram. Things might not make sense just now, but everything will be just fine." Inwardly he was panicking, realizing just how serious the situation was. The boy was shivering uncontrollably, obviously disoriented, and quite possibly going into shock. But out in the wilderness, there was hardly a thing he could do for him.  
  
"Now, I'm going to elevate your legs. I need you to stay awake for me, okay? Talk to me about something...see to any pretty girls lately?" He pulled over the log that had tripped him earlier, using it to prop up his son's feet.  
  
Ephram's answer was too soft to understand, so Andy asked again.  
  
"Amy."  
  
"Oh yeah? Tell me about Amy." Finished, Andy shifted back up to his son's head and resumed warming his hands.  
  
"You know Amy, Dad." The boy muttered drowsily, his eyelids flickering.  
  
"Sure, but I want to hear about her from you. What do you like about her? Her hair? Her teeth? Her clothes?" Andy prompted, trying to keep the boy awake and talking until help arrived.  
  
"Her smile."  
  
"Really?" Andy paused at the answer, surprised.  
  
"When she smiles, everything's okay." Ephram slurred, obviously struggling against exhaustion.  
  
"That's the same way it was with your mom. Her smile could just light up a room."  
  
"And her laugh. I...I just..."  
  
"I know." Andy pushed the boy's wet bangs away from his forehead, wincing at the touch of his cold skin.  
  
"When she died, all I could think about was her laugh." Ephram's cloudy mind jumped thoughts, momentarily throwing the older man off guard.  
  
"Your mom?" It was more of an answer than a question.  
  
"I miss her."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"I want to hear her laugh again." Ephram choked out, dissolving into a coughing fit.  
  
Andy blinked back tears and strained his eyes for a sign of the helicopter.  
  
"You will, son, someday. But not today."  
  
********************************  
  
Author's Note: All right, so there seemed to be more demand than previously expected! Thanks for inspiring me to write more. I do hope this was worth it for all of you! Tell me what you think. I am *not* a doctor, and have *no* medical training *whatsoever*, so please, cut me some slack. An online medical encyclopedia is my only source of knowledge regarding hypothermia, so blame that if I'm wrong ;) So, what will happen to Ephram? Will the helicopter make it in time? It looks like my idea is a bit off from next Monday's episode, but whatever! I'll try to get the next part out soon, but I have quite a bit to do for school right now, so this really isn't top priority (  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers!  
  
Rofro05: Are you eternally grateful now? Lol. I really appreciate your comments, and I hope this satisfies your want for more Ephram (  
  
KlownKid_131: Thanks. I tried to make this one longer, to make up for the terribly short one last time ;) Hope you enjoyed it!  
  
Snoopy: Wow, gotta love the enthusiasm...I should ask for wild demand more often, lol. Hope you liked ths part.  
  
bflyangel2002: Thanks for the compliments, they really mean a lot!  
  
Luvcarter: Heh, where's the wild demand again? J/k, thanks for the encouragement!  
  
Shaniatwainrox74: I agree, Amy *is* a fool for leaving our poor Ephram hanging. I might try to stick her in to a later chapter, depending on where I go with this. Hope you enjoyed it (  
  
Sarah: Soon enough for you? LoL. Your review was oh-so-nice, thanks a million! I'm glad you didn't think the other part was rushed, but I did try to slow this one down a bit, just in case (   
  
Sorry I didn't do this for previous chapters, and sorry if I missed anyone! I'll be formatting it this way from now on. 


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